Sting on his unexpected collaboration with Shaggy: “There's no master plan for world domination”

In 2016, Sting released 57th and 9th, his first solo album of pop/rock songs in 13 years. Now, just 16 months later, he’s releasing yet another album of original material: 44/876, a collaboration with reggae/pop star Shaggy. What caused this sudden burst of creativity? “A happy accident,” Sting says.

“You can never tell when creativity’s gonna hit you,” he tells ABC Radio. “Bumping into Shaggy a year ago sparked something off in me — and in him — and so that’s the result of that happy accident. There’s no agenda, there’s no master plan for world domination. We just have fun.”

The two initially came together for just one song — “Don’t Make Me Wait” — but got along so well, they decided to do an entire album. In an unusual move, before anyone had heard any of the music, the duo decided to introduce it by performing live on some of the biggest stages that you can imagine.

They started with a charity concert for 15,000 people in Jamaica last year. Then, in January, Sting and Shaggy performed at the Grammys, followed by the Super Bowl Tailgate Show. This past Friday, they brought their double act to ABC’s Good Morning America.

Considering they’d never worked together before, you think they would’ve chosen a more low-key way of announcing their collaboration. Why the big splash?

Turning serious, Shaggy notes, “We don’t have anything to prove. He’s been successful at what he’s done, I’ve been successful at what I’ve done….We just wanna go out there and have fun, and make a record that we like. And we wanna be onstage and play it together — that’s what our whole thing is about.”